Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) will introduce Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard at her Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, Breitbart News can exclusively reveal.
The Senate Intelligence Committee plans to meet at 10:00 A.M. Eastern to discuss Gabbard’s qualifications for the position.
Ernst, who served in the Iowa Army National Guard and retired as a lieutenant colonel, will praise Gabbard’s duty to her country in prepared remarks obtained by Breitbart News:
Duty. Honor. Service. These are not just words – they are principles that have guided Lieutenant Colonel Gabbard.
As a young, enlisted soldier in the Hawaii National Guard, Tulsi answered the call to duty upon her deployments to the Middle East.
From graduating at the top of her class from the Accelerated Officer Candidate School at the Alabama Military Academy – the first woman to do so – to serving as the youngest member of Hawaii’s legislature, she upheld honor while breaking barriers both in uniform and in her civilian leadership roles.
And today, Lieutenant Colonel Gabbard demonstrates her commitment to service by sitting before this committee, prepared to answer the nation’s call once again, this time as the next Director of National Intelligence.
Tulsi and I share similar backgrounds – both to our nation and to our communities.
We’ve worn the same uniforms, serving in the Army National Guard and Army Reserves, leading battalions, and deploying to Iraq and Kuwait.
We’ve both had the privilege of serving in our state legislatures and in Congress, representing the people who shaped our lives and communities.
The Iowa senator said Gabbard would put her duty above her political views.
“And rest assured, Lieutenant Colonel Gabbard loves this country – a fact proven by her willingness to put her life on the line to defend it,” Ernst continued.
She added, “For over twenty years, she has put on the uniform and checked her political views at the door, with one mission in mind…to protect and defend our great United States.”
Bernard Hudson, a retired CIA official who was the agency’s chief of counterterrorism, where he oversaw the CIA’s efforts in the Global War on Terror, told Breitbart News in mid-January:
As a member of congress sitting on the House Armed Services Committee, she was privy to and responsible for understanding and supporting some of the most sensitive and vast global intelligence programs the United States has. Lastly, she is someone who has put party loyalty far behind duty to the country. That bipartisan background should help her demonstrate to the American people that the intelligence community she leads is a non-partisan tool that supports the key interests of the United States and its key allies.
In Gabbard’s own prepared opening remarks, she signaled she has bold plans to reform the position, as Breitbart News reported.
“The truth is: what really upsets my political opponents is my consistent record of independence, regardless of political affiliation, and my refusal to be anyone’s puppet,” Gabbard will reportedly say.
“You know who else is committed to defending our country and reforming Washington with a fierce and unparalleled independence, President Donald J. Trump who ran and won with a mandate for change this November.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3
